The loss of biological diversity is a serious ecological problem and a central component in current strategies for managing environmental change. Global biodiversity is declining at an accelerated rate. This is both a biological and social concern: it may lead to dysfunctions at genetic, species or ecosystem levels, and lost species or habitats may have important commodity and/or socio-cultural values. Human action, particularly land uses that alter habitat, is a key cause of biodiversity loss.

The rapid erosion of biodiversity is among the biggest challenges human society is facing. Concurrently, major efforts are in place to quantify changes in biodiversity, to understand the consequences for ecosystem functioning and human wellbeing, and to develop sustainable management strategies. Based on comprehensive bibliometric analyses covering 134,321 publications, we report systematic spatial biases in biodiversity-related research